EPA Names Top 20 Organizations Using On-Site Renewable Energy

Many companies generate their own solar power. This Wal-Mart store in Colorado combines innovative skylights with solar panels, which are barely visible in the background. Wal-Mart's California and Texas facilities landed in tenth place on the EPA top-20 list.Credit: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named the top 20 partners in its Green Power Partnership that are generating their own renewable energy on-site. Combined, the top 20 partners are generating more than 736 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy on-site each year, enough to power more than 61,000 average U.S. homes. Leading the list are Kimberly-Clark Corporation, the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, the City of San Diego, the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant, and CalPortland, a cement company. Like many paper companies, Kimberly-Clark produces electricity from biomass waste generated by the pulp manufacturing process. Cities and sanitation districts tend to generate methane at their wastewater treatment plants and can convert that methane to energy, accounting for much of the green power generated by the California cities of Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose, while CalPortland has its own wind power facility. The top 20 partners also draw on other biomass energy sources, solar power, and small hydropower to meet their energy needs. See the EPA press release, the top-20 list, and pages 20-21 of Kimberly-Clark's 2008 Sustainability Report (PDF 4.3 MB).
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